Never Let Me Go
by whitesplashes
Summary: Clara Oswald is a successful physician with a heavy past. She spends most of her time buried in work as a distraction, from her pain. This changes when she meets John Smith, a popular photographer, on her operating table who begins to shed rays of sunshine through her dark days. But, what happens when past monsters re-emerge and threaten to destroy her second chance at happiness?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was another late afternoon at the studio, finishing up post production of the newest photographs for 'Vogue UK' magazine's latest issue. Every month, the models got skinnier, John noticed. If they wanted to advertise all these new make-up products and clothing lines, why not have a healthy, non-skinny model do the job… not someone who looked like you plastered skin over her bones and left to sun dry for a few weeks. Normal women would never look the way the models in his photos did in their attire. No. They weren't living broomsticks.

Not that he could say much for himself. He was a model back in his younger days, and quite a bony stick insect as well. But it never mattered for men like it did for women, right? "Society these days…" he grumbled while he trimmed a third of an inch off the already bone dry thigh of his subject on the current photo on his laptop screen. Sometimes he re-edited his work more than three times because they never met the 'perfect' standard of how the advertising department and sole product company viewed the 'look' and because the models simply appeared 'fat'.

"Ridiculous…" he mumbled this time, thinking of how absurd the entire industry and society was on the feminine image. The sound of his cell phone broke him from his thoughts. His ringtone 'Barbie Girl' was proudly selected by his young niece, Melody and was threatened that if it were removed, she would never speak to him again. Pretty harsh words coming from a six year old!

"John Smith", he answered.

"Johnnnnyyyyyyy. Listen, I can't pick up Melody after ballet classes tonight. Can you help me out?" came the voice on the other end.

"Boss got you working overtime again?"

"Yeah, stupid new worker was a no show again today. I think she's doing it to spite me after I pulled her up on flirting with fellow employees".

"Yikes. No worries. I'll take care of it," he concluded, wishing his sister well before hanging up.

Two hours later, John pulled into his sister's driveway. He quietly opened the door to the backseat and lifted a sleeping Melody out of the car, followed by her pink My Little Pony backpack over his shoulder. He unlocked the front door and put her straight to bed.

"Night munchkin," he whispered, planting a kiss on the child's forehead. It was unfortunate how his sister became a single parent. Donna was happily married to Jack for five years, before he took on leukemia. He barely lasted two years afterwards.

The opening of the front door jostled him from a memory of his sister's distraught, grief stricken face, cradling a twelve-month-old babe in her arms while staring down at her husband's lifeless face at his funeral.

"Hey…" greeted Donna as she spotted her older brother coming down the stairs.

She gave him a quick hug.

"How are you?" he asked, studying her face.

Bags under the eyes, wrinkles that not even all the concealer in the world could hide, cracked lips… she looked like hell.

"Could be better, honestly."

John patted her shoulder, "You need a break Don. This job is killing you".

"You know it's not as easy as it sounds. I'm not the most qualified or brilliant person out there," she countered, biting into her fingernails.

"No, but I just want you to have something better paying and less… stressful."

Donna tilted her head to the side and stared at him blankly.

"Something will work out eventually Johnny. I have hope."

He knew that stare all too well. She did it unconsciously anytime she felt stressed and it was no use bantering with her then. It only made her agitated and late night sass was something he was not up for right now.

"Well, Melody's asleep. You need anything else before I go?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"No. I'm fine. Thanks for everything."

"Anytime. I'm always here if you need help or want some time to yourself. I have no problem babysitting Melody an-"

"I know, I know', she cut him off mid-sentence. John stifled a yawn and raked his hand through his hair. "You look exhausted. Better get home." He simply nodded, gave his sibling a peck on the cheek and left.

He drove slowly on the very wet road, as he headed east along the main street. Turning onto a secondary road, his mobile went off.

Attempting to pull it out of his jacket breast pocket, it fell onto the floor. Taking his eye off the road for a split second, he bent down to grab the device, when he heard a blaring horn. He instantly shot up in his seat, with only seconds to realize he had drifted partly onto the neighbouring lane. He instantly jerked the steering wheel to put himself back on the correct side.

He pulled over on the shoulder, keeping the car in idle and retrieved his phone.

One missed call.

As the call log screen popped up, he saw that it was from Donna. Did he forget something at the house? Was she and Melody okay? Worry came over him, and he hit the dial button. No answer. He quickly pulled back onto the road and dialed again. Phone in hand and steering wheel in the other, he frowned as the call went to again went unanswered. For a second he took his eyes of the road to glance at his phone screen and then back up, only to notice too late the crossing pedestrian. Instinctively, he swerved the car away for the individual, picking up a skid and then colliding head on with two vehicles from incoming traffic on the opposing lane.

The last thing John remembered was a warm, wet feeling over his face and a shot of pain through his legs and stomach, before all went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The distant sound of voices stirred him from his foggy state, as he cracked his eyelids. There was a blurry masked face over him, all in blue and shining bright lights above. The room was cold and smelt like antiseptic.

'Hey, I think he's awake!' someone alerted.

It sounded like a man, all brusque and down to business.

'Where am I?' John slurred, trying to lift his hand up to cover his eyes.

'Sir, we need you to keep your arms down and stay still.'

'Where am I?' he asked again.

This time, a female voice answered. 'You're in the operating room. Just relax.'

The operating room. That meant he was in the hospital. Oh no. Donna. Did she know? Was she worried? John began to panic. The heart monitor registered his changed state and the female voice spoke to him again.

'Hey, hey… calm down. It's going to be alright.' She took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

'My sister…' he started. 'I can't leave her. She needs me…'

He held onto the woman's hand, as a tear rolled down his cheek. A finger gently brushed it away.

'I'm going to make sure you get back to her. Okay?' she soothed.

'Promise?' he whispered, thinking of how Donna would react if she found her last remaining family, died.

'I promise,' was the reply, followed by a sharp sting in his arm. Before John could react, he found himself drifting into a deep slumber.

 _Three days later_

John awoke with a splitting headache and an aching body.

'Uncle Johnny!' screamed the excited voice of his one and only niece.

Melody instantly climbed up onto the hospital bed and threw herself on top of him. John yelped in pain, at the sudden weight but didn't mind in the least.

'Hey princess,' he greeted with a toothy grin. Melody rest her head on his chest and held him tight.

'I'm glad you're awake uncle Johnny. I was worried you went to visit daddy in heaven,' she scolded.

He wrapped his arm around the child and released a shaky sigh.

'I'm not going anywhere kiddo.'

His eyes stung at the thought of him never seeing her or Donna again. The door to the room opened and Donna stepped in chatting with a rather attractive young woman, dressed in a white lab coat armed with a stethoscope. She must be his doctor. God, he hoped she was his doctor. She was beautiful, with her long brown hair twisted into a bun, brown eyes alert and attentative. She was tiny, yet slender built, with hands small but surely deadly when armed with a scalpel.

'Melody! Get off your uncle!' scolded the child's mother.

'It's fine Donna…' groaned John. It took her a few seconds to register that he was awake.

'Oh my God!' she rushed over and whacked him in the shoulder with her handbag. 'What the hell were you thinking?!'

John cringed at the high pitch of her voice. 'Ow! You mind lowering your decibel usage?' he complained.

'Shut up! Don't you know it's dangerous to use your phone and drive, you twit?'

Oh, so that's what she was worked up about. So much for being pampered by little sister after a near death experience.

'You tried to call me while I was driving!' he countered.

She scowled at him, 'Yes. But then remembered you were and hung up.'

'Well I got worried!'

'You should have known better, idiot!'

'Mommy, Uncle Johnny isn't feeling well. Please be nice to him,' aided Melody who seemed to have enough of the bantering between the siblings.

'She's right. Mr. Smith does need his rest and arguing is not going to make him heal faster,' came the other woman from across the room. All attention fell on her.

'Right… Well, I've got to go to work and Melody's got school,' said Donna, after a few moments.

She looked John in the eye, then leaned over his bed and kissed his forehead.

'Glad to have you back, mate. I'm so glad I'm the better-looking child. The accident really shows how ugly you are,' she teased before dragging a protesting Melody out the hospital room.

'Nice family you got there. I'm Dr. Oswald,' announced the young lady.

Her voice rung all kinds of bells in his head. He heard it before, but where? Think. She walked over to his bedside and gathered the data off the various machines he was hooked up to, checked his IV bag, vitals and bandages.

'Everything seems to be fine…' she noted more to herself than him, scribbling notes on her notepad.

'Do you have any pain anywhere?'

'Just in my leg and my stomach area feels funny.'

She nodded as she continued her note-taking. 'What happened to me …?'

'You were in a vehicular accident. Drove into incoming traffic. You were lucky unlike the other victims.'

Other victims? Oh God. Of all things in John's life, he never thought he'd be responsible for murdering people.

'How many?'

'Two.'

'Oh God… What have I done?' he moaned, burying his face in his hands.

'They're not dead, if that's what you're thinking. Both are stabilized, just they didn't walk away half as injured as you are,' she explained.

To his relief, he looked up at her, his caterpillar for eyebrows almost meeting the centre of his forehead.

'So, I didn't kill anyone?'

'No.'

'It's still my fault. If I hadn't been using my phone while driving…'

'What you were doing, seconds before the accident should teach you a lesson and be a constant reminder of what to not do in the future, Mr. Smith', she stated firmly.

'Yes ma'am.'

'Dr. Oswald,' she corrected, glancing at the clock on the wall.

He smirked. 'How bad are my injuries?'

'Laceration on upper right thigh. Pretty deep, but no damage was done to the nerves or artery. It will however, leave a nasty scar. So, unless you plan to go swimming in a pool anytime soon, speedos might not be the best option.'

'It's nice that you're concerned about my scar and not that I'm 53 and all my sag is what I should be more conscious about doc.'

The corners of her mouth curled, her face amused. 'And here I thought all older men, believed they had the body of Gods.'

John chuckled. 'I do have the body of a God. Ever heard of Buddah?'

Doctor Oswald burst out laughing. John laughed along with her and couldn't help but notice how lovely she looked when she smiled.

'Your stomach had some pretty bad bruises. It may have been a result of the collision. There was some internal bleeding, but again nothing major.'

'So, I'm ready to go?' he inquired.

'Not yet. This is the first time since you've been here, that you are fully conscious. I need to monitor you for a couple of days before I think you're okay to be on your own.'

She tucked her notepad under her arm and proceeded to the exit. 'I'll see you around Mr. Smith.'

Indeed, he thought. This was going to be a very interesting stay and he was absolutely looking forward to seeing the beautiful Dr. Oswald, again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dr. Clara Oswald dropped herself onto her office chair with a loud thud. Her feet ached and she was starving. An entire day doing patient check-ups and follow-ups had made her skip lunch, again. She pulled open her desk drawer and grabbed a granola bar. How Clara loathed cereal, but for the sake of stopping her stomach from grumbling, she stuffed it down with a bottle of water under two minutes.

A knock resonated from outside, followed by a lovely red-head popping her head through the doorway.

'Busy?'

Clara shook her head, beckoning the young woman to enter.

'Shut the door behind you,' she ordered.

'What do I owe the pleasure Ms. Amy Pond?'

'Not sure you're going to be able to call me that very soon, Clara,' she sang, twirling around the small space like a happy five-year-old.

'Okay, hold up. Did something happen?'

Amy sat on the desk and held out her left hand, flexing the small diamond ring on her marriage finger. Clara grabbed her friend's hand and looked up at her wide eyed.

'Rory proposed?!'

Amy nodded frantically and Clara crawled onto her table to embrace her friend.

'Oh, my God!' she screamed excitedly. 'When's the wedding?'

'We're not sure yet, but we were thinking sometime in June.'

'June? That's three months from now… you got a lot to plan!' Dr. Oswald panicked.

Amy smiled broadly, her face glowing with happiness. 'I'm so happy for you, Pond.'

It was twelve thirty when Clara parked into her garage. Amy had insisted on the two of them celebrating the occasion at a local bar, with a couple of their fellow hospital staff, her friend's husband to be, Rory Williams. It was all pure fun. A couple rounds of tequila shots, some karaoke which she sucked at and being asked to fill the position of the maid of honour. Clara replayed the evening's events as she snuggled under the covers of her warm bed.

Life as a doctor had its perks and cons. The social status with the prefix was nice, and the high recognition and respect from peers was always welcomed. She spread her arm out, feeling the empty space beside her. The long hours however, made it difficult to meet someone, far less have any quality time to herself. Three years ago, she was engaged to a wealthy entrepreneur, Danny Pink. They met at a hotel she was staying at in Paris, while attending an international conference. He was charming and swept her off her feet with ease. He had shown her wonders, life beyond the hospital walls.

It didn't take long for her to fall in love with him and him with her, or so she thought. The night he had proposed to her, they were on a yacht off the coast of the British Virgin Islands. The stars had seemed to sparkle even brighter that evening when he went on one knee and popped the question. She didn't hesitate to say yes, and not long after they were entwined and rolling around in the sheets.

Six months into their engagement, the hospital she worked at became short staffed, after an outbreak of chicken pox on her ward. Luckily, she was vaccinated against the virus and was required to work overtime for several months. Danny however, did not take it very well. He accused her of using her job to evade spending time with him, which clearly was not true. Eventually their verbal communication broke down and they spoke only on a physical level. Danny became rough and sometimes so animalistic, he left bruises on her body that took days to fade and was despondent to her outcries. One evening, she came home beyond her usual hours after events normalized at work and found him in bed with another woman. Opposing and yelling at him for his betrayal, he snapped; slapping her several times and kicking her out his mansion.

He threw all her belongings out the door, hurling endless profanities, while the neighbours looked on hiding behind their window curtains. It was the most humiliating moment in her life. She left everything on his front lawn, and drove all the way to Amy's crying uncontrollably. The following week, any money he had given her was withdrawn from her account, all other novelties seized, including her engagement ring. Thankfully, Amy let her stay at her house till she could find her bearings and start afresh.

Tears rolled down her cheek as she pulled her knees to her chest and broke into sobs. Three years and it still ate at her. Most days she hid it behind a smile. Clara convinced Amy she was fine, but the truth be told, she was lonely and hurting; and having no living relatives made it harder. She did not want to take advantage of Amy's kindness and burden her with her problems, so she kept them to herself.

Clara considered seeing a therapist, to help ease the stress of her past. However, in the medical profession, everyone was connected. She clearly would not entertain having her confidential information leaked. When she could find a moment, she would go to the children's orphanage nearby and offer her services free of charge. Sometimes, she would bring them little tokens, be it a new book or a stuffed animal when she popped into a charity shop, just to put a smile on their faces.

There was something about children that warmed her heart. Or was it that she wanted them, when she thought she was going to marry Danny? She never knew really, except that being around them made her happier. One day, she hoped the pain would leave and her entire world would be filled with laughter and happiness and she would find someone who would love her till the end of her days.


End file.
